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The retail canonization of Che

6:47 PM Mon, Feb 02, 2009 |
By Robert Whitcomb    Email this author |   Email this entry

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Providence Place Mall kiosk. Purveyors of dreams, relying on iconography as old as the catacombs of Rome. Death's heads with bejeweled crown and seraphim's wings. A griffon from the Middle Ages--or a video game. Lions, tigers, and bullets. Next to the bling logo of the New York Yankees, the ubiquitous visage of Che Guevara. What are we to make of the canonization--and commercialization--of the Argentine-born Cuban revolutionary, killed in an abortive coup in Bolivia? The T-shirt saint has now become a lacquered piece of cheap jewelry sold in an American mall.

-- Photo and caption by William Morgan

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 Tags  Che Guevara Providence Place Wiliam Morgan

Comments

Rich Lang said:

Writing from Argentina, the home of "el Che". It is amazing how wide the gulf is between the American and Argentine perceptions of Che Guevara. To many in the US he was a 1960s terrorist. To many Argentines - and many Latin Americans - he is a sacred figure. On a continent where too often power, money and personal connections triumph over human dignity, the ideal (perhaps the myth?) of "el Che" - a middle class medical student who gave up a comfortable life to fight for those unheard voices - still holds strong appeal.

Link | February 3, 2009 4:43 AM
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Terrence McCarthy said:

And charismatic actor Benicio Del Toro playing him isn't going to decrease Che's popularity down there.

Link | February 4, 2009 8:26 AM
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